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Saturday, 23 September 2017

Marshal of the Indian Air Force and 1965 war hero Arjan Singh dies at 98

Arjan Singh, who led the IAF during the India-Pakistan war in 1965, is considered an icon and a war hero. “India mourns the unfortunate demise of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh," said PM Modi.

File photo of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, famous for his role in the the 1965 India- Pakistan war. He passed away at the age of 98 (PTI Photo)

Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force and the only officer of the force to be promoted to five-star rank, died Saturday at the Army Research and Referral hospital in New Delhi. He was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition after he suffered a cardiac arrest this morning, the Defence Ministry said. He was being treated at the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Sciences Centre of the hospital.

Singh, who led the IAF during the India-Pakistan war in 1965, is considered an icon and a war hero. He was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and chiefs of three forces in the hospital. The Punjab government has declared three days of mourning as mark of respect to the Marshal of IAF.

“India mourns the unfortunate demise of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh. We remember his outstanding service to the nation. Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh’s determined focus on capacity building in the IAF added great strength to our defence capabilities. India will never forget the excellent leadership of Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh in 1965, when the IAF saw substantial action,” said PM Modi in a series of tweets.

“Sometime back I met him, who despite his ill health tried to get up to salute even though I said no. Such was his soldier discipline. My thoughts are with his family & those mourning the demise of a distinguished air warrior & fine human, Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh. RIP,” he added.

Singh was born on April 15, 1919 in undivided Punjab and went on to be selected for the Empire Pilot training course at RAF Cranwell in 1938 when he was just 19. He flew Westland Wapiti biplanes in the North Western Frontier Province as a member of the No.1 IAF Squadron as part of his first posting. He was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader in 1944 and received the Distinguished Flying Cross the same year for successfully leading the squadron during combat. On 15 August 1947, he was given the honour of leading the fly-past of more than a hundred IAF aircraft over the Red Fort in the national capital. In August 1964, Singh took over as the Chief of Air Staff (CoAS) in the rank of Air Marshal.

“A testing time came in September 1965 when Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam, in which an armoured thrust targeted the vital town of Akhnur, he was summoned into the Defence Minister’s office with a request for air support. When asked how quickly the IAF will be ready for operations,he replied with his characteristic nonchalance,”…in an hour”. And true to his word, the Air Force struck the Pakistani offensive in an hour. He led the IAF through the war showing unparalleled leadership,” a government release said.

Known to be an officer who has flown over 60 aircraft throughout his service, he remained a flyer until the end of his illustrious career.

Following his retirement, Singh served as an ambassador to Switzerland in 1971, concurrently serving as the ambassador to Vatican as well. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his leadership during the 1965 war.

“Arjan Singh was and remains a source of inspiration to generations of Indians,” the government release said.

Thursday, 21 September 2017

New Delhi: The 'creamy layer' ceiling for OBC reservation has been raised to Rs 8 lakh from the existing Rs 6 lakh per year, according to an official order issued today.

It has now been decided to raise the income limit from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per annum for determining the creamy layer among the OBCs.

This means that children of persons having a gross annual income of Rs 8 lakh or above for a period of three consecutive years would fall under the creamy layer category and would not be entitled to the benefit of reservation available to Other Backward Classes.

"It has now been decided to raise the income limit from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per annum for determining the creamy layer among the Other Backward Classes," the order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

In 1993, the limit was kept at Rs 1 lakh. It was raised thrice -- to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004, Rs 4.5 lakh in 2008 and Rs 6 lakh in 2013.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on August 23 announced that the Union Cabinet had been formally apprised of the decision to increase the limit for central government jobs.

He had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted in Assam that the bar defining creamy layer would be raised.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry had proposed that OBC families which earn more than Rs 8 lakh per year should be under the creamy layer category.

"These measures are part of the government's efforts to ensure greater social justice and inclusion for members of the Other Backward Classes," an official release issued recently said.

The government has already introduced in Parliament a bill to provide Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

It has also decided to set up a commission, under Section 340 of the Constitution, to sub-categorise the OBCs so that the more "under-privileged" among them can avail the benefit of reservation for government jobs and seats in educational institutions.

Guwahati: The government employees in Assam who do not provide for their parents and siblings with disabilities stand to lose 10 per cent of their salary, with the state Assembly passing a bill today for their better upkeep.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Under possibly the first such legislation in the country, the amount deducted from their monthly salary will be given to their parents and siblings so they could support themselves.

The Assam Employees' Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring Bill, 2017, aims "to provide for accountability for employees of the state government or any other organisation in Assam (under the government) in taking care of their parents and divyang (disabled) siblings and in matters connected therewith or incidental thereto".

Earlier, introducing the PRONAM bill, state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said there are instances of parents having to live in old age homes as their children do not look after them.

The PRONAM bill has been brought in so that if employees do not take care of their parents and divyang siblings 10 per cent of their monthly salary will be deducted for their upkeep, he said.

The purpose of the bill, he said, was not to interfere in the private lives of employees but to ensure that their parents and siblings facing neglect are able to lodge a complaint with their respective departments.

The legislation was passed by the House by voice vote.

Sarma said a similar bill will be introduced later for MLAs and MPs, employees of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and private companies operating in Assam.

Former chief minister and opposition Congress leader Tarun Gogoi termed the legislation an "insult" to the Assamese society, which, he said, has a tradition of looking after old parents and siblings.

Claiming such a legislation interfered in the private lives of government employees, Gogoi said, "Our culture is to not only look after our old parents and siblings, educating them, but also to take care of even cousins and other relatives.

New Delhi: Businesses have flocked to the GST Network portal on the last day of filing initial returns for August with over 80,000 GSTR-3B being uploaded every hour, its Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Wednesday.

"Currently GSTN system is working smoothly and accepting more than 80,000 GSTR-3B returns per hour," said GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Businesses have time till midnight to file August returns in GSTR-3B form and the network is geared up to take the load, he said.

This is the second month of GSTR-3B filing after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out from July 1.

"Currently GSTN system is working smoothly and accepting more than 80,000 GSTR-3B returns per hour," said Pandey, who was appointed GSTN Chairman earlier this month.

Till September 16, 3.5 lakh taxpayers had filed GSTR-3B for August.

GSTN, which has built the IT backbone for the new indirect tax regime, was expecting the load to come towards the last date.

Over 47 lakh returns in GSTR-3B were filed for July and the tally is expected to be similar for August. Taxes to the tune of Rs 95,000 crore were collected in the maiden month of roll-out.

GST Network (GSTN) had faced glitches during the GSTR-3B filing for July, which had forced the government to extend the due date for filing of returns.

The GST Council, comprising Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, had earlier this month decided to set up a Group of Ministers to sort out the issues faced by businesses while filing returns and paying taxes on GSTN portal.

After the first meeting of the GoM last week, its chairman and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had said that 25 key issues have been identified and there would be visible change on the GSTN portal in next 7-10 days.

GSTR-3B is only a simple return which eases compliance burden for businesses. Even after filing it, businesses will have to upload invoices and file final returns in the GSTR-1, 2 and 3 forms on a stipulated date.

This does not include the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and The Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel.

"According to the formula, it was calculated to be given for 72 days but for the past six years it has been a tradition of giving them the bonus for 78 days, so the Cabinet has approved a 78 day productivity linked bonus for them," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

About 12.30 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees are likely to benefit from the decision. This payment will be made before Dussehra/Puja holidays, a statement from the government said.

"The payment of PLB would serve as an incentive, and result in motivating a large number of Railway employees, particularly those involved in execution and operations of railways, to improve their productivity and ensure safety, speed and service for Railway customers," the statement said.

The financial implication of payment of 78 days' PLB to railway employees has been estimated to be Rs 2,245.45 crore.

The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB is Rs 7,000 per month. The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.

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